The NYSPHSAA Central Committee held its 97th annual meeting via video teleconference on Wednesday, July 29th.

Some of the key proposals the Committee approved include:

-utilizing 13 weight classes in the sport of wrestling as a two-year pilot beginning in the 2020-21 school year.

-boys ice hockey received approval to adopt 17-minute periods with adjusted penalty times beginning in the 2020-21 season. Boys ice hockey was also granted approval to use a two-referee, one lineman officiating system in all regional and state final four games.

-the expansion of the NYSPHSAA Coaches and Officials Appreciation Days to three times per year to include all three sport seasons 

To see the complete Executive Committee meeting recap click here

To see the recap of voting items and discussion items click here

The Central Committee Meeting was the final meeting as President for Paul Harrica. Paul has been the Association president for the past two years and now transitions to the role of Past President.

Following the meeting (left photo) President Harrica "passed the gavel" to incoming NYSPHSAA President Julie Bergman, who will officially take over on September 1st.

We want to thank Paul for his leadership, his dedication and commitment to the student-athletes across New York. We also look forward to Julie leading the Association for the next two years and the direction she will lead us in.

This was the final meeting (right photo) for Jim Osborne as a NYSPHSAA officer. Jim served an eight year volunteer term from 2012-2020. He was the Association President from 2016-2018. We thank him for his service to the Association as an officer and thank him for all the time he gave.

In case you missed it, we produced a Senior Salute video tribute to the Class of 2020.

The video was designed, with our partners from NYSCOPBA, as a tribute to the spring athletes from the 2020 season who never got to play or practice. it is also thank you to all the seniors who just graduated for what they showed us during the most difficult time in the Associations history.

The NYSPHSAA COVID-19 Task Force has met three times in the past two months (June 10th, June 30th and July 16th). The NYSPHSAA has postponed the start of the Fall sports season to September 21st and canceled the Fall 2020 Regional and State Championship events in response to the COVID-19 crisis.  

NYSPHSAA’s Executive Director, Dr. Robert Zayas, continues to work with state officials, the NYSPHSAA COVID-19 Task Force, NYSPHSAA’s Officers and the 11 Section Executive Directors on interscholastic athletic participation for the 2020-2021 school year; it is the goal to preserve all athletic seasons for the 562,000 student-athletes who annually participate.

The NYSPHSAA is awaiting additional guidance from state officials to determine when interscholastic athletics may resume. The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) “Interim Guidance For In-Person Instruction At Pre-K To Grade 12 Schools During The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency” (released July 13, 2020) stated:

“Extracurriculars: Policies regarding extracurricular programs and which activities will be allowed, considering social distancing PPE usage, and cleaning and disinfection, as well as risk of COVID-19 transmission (e.g. interscholastic sports, assemblies and other gatherings). Policies should consider how to maintain cohorts if applicable or members of the same household. Responsible Parties should refer to DOH’s “Interim Guidance for Sports and Recreation During the COVID 19 Public Health Emergency” to assist in development of these policies however, interscholastic sports are not permitted at the time of publication of this guidance, and additional information on athletic activities is forthcoming.”

Updated information will be distributed by NYSPHSAA as soon as it becomes available.  

The 2019-20 School of Excellence and School of Distinction winners were announced. This past school year 56 schools were awarded School of Excellence status, while 140 were deemed School of Distinction. Congratulations to all the schools who achieved this outstanding academic honor.

Use the links below to view the winning schools:

School of Excellence

School of Distinction

While last season didn’t end as planned, it’s time to get your mind and body back in the game and prepare for what’s ahead. You can do that starting today, by focusing on sports nutrition strategies that will support your summer training. Check out advice from American Dairy Association North East sports nutrition panelist Heather Mangieri featuring recipes to fuel summer training.

Fall 2020 rule books from the NFHS are now available to purchase.

We are excited to offer digital copies of the NFHS publications through the NFHS Rules App this year. Once downloaded, no internet connection is necessary for viewing. To place an order for digital or hard copies visit our website at nysphsaasales.com.

Member school districts and organization DO NOT need to prepay online. Simply choose Member Order, and your books will be shipped then invoiced as normal.

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association is pleased to announce the members of the 2020-21 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

This year, 11 new members will join the SAAC, teaming with the 11 returning members who served as juniors last year. The SAAC is comprised of two student-athlete representatives from each of the 11 sections in New York State.

*indicates returning member

Section Name School Grade

I Aiden Riebe* New Rochelle High School 12

I Afua Yeboah Peekskill High School 11

2 Devon Wagner* Stillwater Middle/High School 12

2 Cameron Orr Lake George Jr./Sr. High School 11

III Kendall Cuyler Mexico High School 11

III Zackary Durr* Oneida Senior High School 12

IV Gavin Bonczkowski* Gilbertsville-Mount Upton Jr/Sr High School 12

IV Shelby Swartz Candor Jr./Sr. High School 11

V Norah Czajka* Penfield Senior High School 12

V Michael Palumbo Pittsford-Mendon High School 11

VI Carly Dell’Oso Starpoint High School 11

VI Nicholas Kramer* Williamsville North High School 12

VII Aidan Porter Ticonderoga Senior High School 11

VII Abrielle Racine* Northeastern Clinton Senior High School 12

VIII Conor Burns Bethpage Senior High School 11

VIII Jenna Halpin* Locust Valley High School 12

IX Dolce McPherson* Fallsburg Jr/Sr High School 12

IX Alex Boucher Red Hook Senior High School 11

X Trent Sargent Ogdensburg Free Academy 12

X Olivia McLear* Lisbon Central School 12

XI Carlie Cutinella Shoreham-Wading River High School 11

XI Benjamin Glazebnik* Half Hollow Hills High School - East 12

NYSPHSAA is proud to announce a new partnership with ezSCRN on an application that can help track, collect data, report and communicate both COVID-19 and a traumatic brain injury.

The ezSCRN app is being offered to NYSPHSAA member schools at a discounted rate. Watch the video below for a brief description of the app and more information.

We have launched a web page exclusively for the ezSCRN app. You can find all the answers to your questions there. Plus you can sign up for a demonstration as well.

To visit the ezSCRN page click here.

Congratulations to the three schools who were chosen as 2019-20 Sportsmanship Promotion Banner Awards winners.

Columbia High School (Section 2), Lisbon Central School (Section X) and Center Moriches High School (Section XI) were chosen out of 348 schools that submitted the Sportsmanship Promotion Survey to the NYSPHSAA. 48 schools were chosen by their Sections as plaque winners.

To read all the information about the winning schools click here.

Check out the officials page on nysphsaa.org. It has important information for current officials and information on signing up if you are interested in becoming an official.

Click here to visit the officials page

Don't forget to tell us #MyReasonWhy on social media. Tell us why you participate in sports, after school activities, coaching, officiating or other ways athletics has made a difference in your life.

Access to financial aid is a key factor in whether low-income students, including many of New York’s student athletes, have the opportunity to attend college.

Yet across New York, low-income high school students are more likely than their wealthier peers to attend schools with low rates by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

The New York FAFSA Completion Project aims to raise awareness of the importance of completing the FAFSA and provide easily accessible resources to schools so they can help more students through the process, drawing on national research and best practices already being used in New York schools.

Those resources include an interactive data tool that allows users to track the progress of New York high schools, with new FAFSA completion estimates updated weekly and comparisons to similar schools and top performers

.

The “3 Steps Every High School Can Take” resource at NYFAFSAChallenge.org encourages schools to:

1. Help their seniors make a plan to complete the FAFSA;

2. Hold a FAFSA completion event; and

3. Set targets and track the data.

At the end of the school year, Ed Trust–NY’s FAFSA Completion Challenge will recognize schools with high completion rates and that show improvement. Twelve awards will be granted to schools across the state. Each award will consist of $750 granted to the winning high schools for the purpose of providing a scholarship to one of its students.

Explore the data, read more about FAFSA completion strategies being used at New York schools, and find additional resources at NYFAFSAChallenge.org.